NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the Chinese government asked him to fire Rockets general manager Daryl Morey after he voiced support for the Hong Kong protestors earlier this month.
Silver was speaking at an event organized by Time magazine in New York on Thursday when he discussed the ongoing situation between China and the league.
“We made clear that we were being asked to fire him, by the Chinese government, by the parties we dealt with, government and business,” Silver said (via The Washington Post). “We said there’s no chance that’s happening. There’s no chance we’ll even discipline him.”
The 57-year-old Silver also admitted the league’s begun to experience financial problems in China.
“The losses have already been substantial,” Silver said. “Our games are not back on the air in China, as we speak, and we’ll see what happens next.”
Despite the situation faced in China, Silver reiterated the league’s commitment to supporting freedom of speech.
“We wanted to make an absolute clear statement that the values of the NBA, these American values — we are an American business — travel with us wherever we go, and one of those values is free expression,” Silver said.
Recently, LeBron James came out and called Morey’s tweet supporting the Hong Kong protestors “misinformed” while the league has faced severe backlash from the Chinese government.
The NBA regular season kicks off on Oct. 22 with matchups between the Pelicans and Raptors at 8 p.m. ET and Lakers and Clippers at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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